


Always a Hero

by CommanderBear



Series: Once a Hero [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Basically everyone gets a cameo, Book 1: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson), Canon Era, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, No Lotus Hotel AU, Not Beta Read, Original Characters - Freeform, Sally is black fight me on this, Series Rewrite, Strong Language, We Die Like Men, You really have to read the first fic first, but they're peripheral, torture?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:21:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28740165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CommanderBear/pseuds/CommanderBear
Summary: Nico di Angelo has been waiting for his prophecy for decades. When Zeus' master bolt and Hades' helm of darkness are stolen, he might finally have his chance. If, that is, a second contender had not just emerged from the woodwork. | Set during the Lightning Thief | No Lotus Hotel AU
Series: Once a Hero [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2107062
Comments: 15
Kudos: 29





	1. The Lightning Thief Part I

December 22, 2004

Nico was not looking forward to the Winter Solstice meeting. He did not attend every year but on special occasions he would accompany his father. When he did attend, he never enjoyed it. It was just a glorified opportunity for Zeus to sneer down his nose at him, and ask Hades pointedly whether his son had done anything about the prophecy lately. Hades in turn practically despised it. If Nico hadn’t known better, he would have thought Hades would prefer to be left out of Olympian business altogether. The annual winter solstice meeting seemed to be nothing more than a reminder that for the rest of the year, Hades was banned from Olympus.

This year was already promised to be worse than usual. Chiron had arranged a field trip. The year-round campers from Camp Half-Blood would be witness to Nico’s least favourite night of the year.

Nico left for Olympus early to meet Chiron and the campers.

He was not altogether surprised to see some familiar faces in the crowd. There was a tall, athletically built boy with sandy blond hair and the elfin features of a child of Hermes. Beside him stood a girl, no older than thirteen, with a waterfall of blonde hair and startlingly grey eyes. Luke Castellan and Annabeth Chase. It had to be.

He felt a twinge of guilt when he saw them together. They had been just two members of a trio, before Nico and his father had gotten involved and uprooted their world.

Luke caught sight of Nico before any of the other campers. He stared Nico down, eyes full of steely resolve. Annabeth followed his gaze to where Nico stood. When she saw him, she folded her arms over her chest and cocked her hip.

Nico shook off his discomfort. There was no point in letting those two get to him. He hadn’t done anything wrong anyway. There was nothing he could have done to save Thalia. If they chose to not believe him that wasn’t his problem.

He ignored them and walked right past them to where Chiron, in his wheelchair, sat watching a group of the younger campers clamber around the plush sofas. The building’s security guard watched them carefully.

“Chiron.”

The old centaur turned. When he saw Nico, his eyes lit up and a warm smile spread across his face.

“Nico, my boy, it is good to see you again.”

“Good to see you too,” said Nico, even though it wasn’t. He glanced around at the group of campers. “Alright!” he called. “Gather up! I’ve got a whole speech for you.”

The troop of younger campers flopped down on the couches, practically sitting in each other’s laps as they leaned forward. That was strangely obedient for elementary school kids. Maybe Chiron had warned them to behave? Or maybe he just scared the crap out of them.

“Okay, couple of ground rules. First, you’re going to stay in a group, no one is wandering off on Olympus to go exploring. The gods value their privacy and no demigod gets to walk around the sacred city without express permission. You stay in the main throne room to watch the meeting, then you get a quick tour, then you leave, got it?”

There was a general nodding and murmuring of agreement from the group.“Next, keep your mouths shut during the meeting. The quickest way to get yourself blasted off the edge of the city is ticking off one of the gods. I don’t care if you’re absolutely sure your mom or dad wants to give you a big hug and sing kumbaya, don’t interrupt the meeting. Think you can manage that?”

Annabeth scoffed and rolled her eyes. She tossed her curly blonde ponytail behind her shoulder. “I think we can handle it.”

Luke stood behind her like a bodyguard. With his typical child of Hermes features, he didn’t look like Annabeth at all but the way he watched over her was very much the role of an elder brother.

“I hope so, for your sake,” Nico said shortly. “When we get to the throne room, you’ll stay out of the way by the door. Don’t bother with all the bowing and scraping unless someone addresses you directly.”

He did a quick headcount. With himself, Chiron and Argus, there were seventeen people who needed to ride the elevator. They would have to take the campers up in two groups since not everyone could fit in the elevator at once.

The security guard didn’t look up as Nico approached the desk.

“We’re gonna need two key cards.”

He flicked his eyes up from his book and eyed Nico like a strange art piece he didn’t quite understand the meaning of. Then he opened the top desk drawer and handed two plastic cards over.

“Make sure it’s just campers with you,” he warned.

Nico went with the first group to make sure they stayed put while they waited for the rest of their friends to join them. Luke and Annabeth stayed behind to ride with Chiron – apparently, they didn’t trust Nico to be in close quarters with them.

Like the lobby, the elevator was a gaudy art deco style with gleaming marble and gold. The buttons next to the door numbered one to one hundred and two. As soon as the elevator doors closed behind the last camper, Nico slipped the key card into the slot. The card disappeared and a new button appeared on the console, a red one that said 600. He pressed it and leaned against the elevator wall.

Light music played over a small overhead speaker with a voice singing, _“Raindrops keep falling on my head….”_ Nico thought he recognized the voice as Apollo’s.

He could feel the campers’ eyes on him. He looked down at the little waist-high demigods.“Can I help you?”

A girl who looked about nine seemed to be the spokesperson. She looked at him with big brown eyes. “Are you really the son of Hades?”

“Yes…” Nico frowned at her. “What did Chiron tell you about me?”“He said that you’re super powerful and we should all follow your example.”

Nico blinked. That was not exactly what he had expected.

She glanced back at the kids behind her and dropped her voice conspiratorially as if that would prevent them from hearing her. “He also said that Luke probably shouldn’t challenge you to a duel but I think he’s gonna do it anyway.”

“I don’t think Luke should challenge me either,” said Nico.

That would be… very irritating. If he lost, which he doubted, it would be very embarrassing and Hades would certainly have something to say about it. Then there would be Zeus arguing that if he couldn’t beat a son of Hermes he definitely couldn’t save Olympus. It would be a mess.

And if he won, Luke would have to go back to camp having been defeated by someone he considered his enemy and that certainly wouldn’t do anything to improve the teenager’s opinion of him. If Nico was honest, he didn’t really like everyone being afraid of or angry with him. It was exhausting. And Luke actually seemed like a decent guy. Maybe, if it hadn’t been for that whole disaster on Half-Blood Hill, they could have been friends.

_Ding._

The doors slid open.

The campers trickled out of the elevator after him. Gasps and exclamations of shock and surprise lifted from the group.

“So _cool!_ ” one boy squealed.

They were standing on a narrow stone walkway in the middle of the air. Below them was Manhattan, from the height of an airplane. In front of them, white marble steps wound up the spine of a cloud, into the sky. At the end of the stairway, through the top of the clouds, rose the decapitated peak of a mountain, its summit covered with snow. Clinging to the mountainside were dozens of multileveled palaces with white-columned porticos, gilded terraces, and bronze braziers glowing with a thousand fires. Roads wound haphazardly up to the peak, where the largest palace gleamed against the snow. Precariously perched gar-dens bloomed with olive trees and rosebushes.

Chiron’s group followed shortly afterwards. The centaur stepped out of his wheelchair and left it beside the elevator door.

As they followed the road upwards, they passed an open-air market filled with colourful tents, a stone amphitheatre built on one side of the mountain, a hippodrome and a coliseum on the other.

A few giggling wood nymphs tossed olives at the group from their garden. Hawkers in the market offered to sell ambrosia-on-a-stick, and a new shield (Nico had to pull a camper away from that particular stall), and a genuine glitter-weave replica of the Golden Fleece, as seen on Hephaestus-TV. The nine muses were tuning their instruments for a concert in the park while a small crowd gathered-satyrs and naiads and a group of minor gods and goddesses. Phobos caught Nico’s eye and gave him a nod of acknowledgement. Everybody, it seemed, was excited for the usual solstice festivities in stark contrast with Nico’s own wary mood.

Steps lead up to an enormous portico where the doors were propped open wide. Beyond them was a central courtyard and past that was the throne room.

Zeus’ palace on Olympus was an exact twin of Hades’ palace in the Underworld. Nico wondered if there was an architectural copy of his bedroom and, if so, who occupied it. One of the Olympians maybe? Apollo or Athena?

The Olympians were already assembled when they arrived. Hades’ throne was across the room from Zeus’. He had opted for obsidian as usual, rather than the bones he had in his own palace. It always looked out of place to have one of thirteen thrones separate from the rest of the U. The arms of his throne each bore a silver skull with ruby red eyes which Hades rested his hands on. One of the skulls was wearing Hades’ own helm of darkness.

Each of the Olympians was in their giant human forms and towered over the group of demigods. Besides Chiron, Luke was the tallest in their group and he looked like a small child next to any one of the gods.

The hearth fire crackled merrily in the centre of the room. Hestia was the only god present who had chosen to remain human-sized. She sat beside the fire and stoked it with an iron poker.

He herded the younger demigods aside so they were out of the doorway and mostly inconspicuous. It would be a shame if they were caught in the crossfire of any godly arguments.

“Welcome, demigods,” said Zeus. His rainy grey eyes were bored as he surveyed the group, he no longer had any demigod children at camp – unless one counted the tree, which Nico didn’t.

Dionysus, in his leopard print leisure suit, sniffed disdainfully. “This is supposed to be my night off from the brats.”

Zeus shot him a dark look. “Do not start with me, Dionysus.”

He rolled his eyes and twirled a grapevine between his fingers. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Hades glanced over at Nico and quirked an eyebrow in a way that seemed to be asking, are you coming? He crossed the room to his father’s throne and leaned against the cool obsidian.

Zeus glared at Nico as he did so. “Well, boy?”

Nico blinked. “My lord?”

“Should you not address the master of this house before you make yourself so comfortable?”

Nico glanced up at his father who looked bitterly annoyed. Nico felt the same.

He was resigned to Zeus’ antics so he bit back a sigh and stood up straight. He walked steadily towards Zeus’ throne, passing Hestia at her hearth and stubbornly ignoring the mix of pitying, caustic, and indifferent gazes of the Olympians.

He knelt before Zeus’ throne and bent his head deferentially. “My apologies, Lord Zeus.”

“Really brother, must you always make the boy stand on ceremony?” Poseidon asked, sounding exasperated. Poseidon was, as was typical for him lately, dressed in khaki Bermuda shorts, leather sandals, and a turquoise Hawaiian shirt.

“Am I not due respect as King?” Zeus demanded.

Poseidon waved Zeus’ retort away in a manner that said he did not want to argue. “Of course.”

Zeus huffed. He jerked his chin at Nico dismissively. “As you were then.”

Hestia offered Nico a warm smile as he went back to his father. She always had time for him. Even if he just wanted to sit in silence, she was happy to sit there with him. Her amber eyes made him think of cozy nights when he and Bianca would both curl up under his sable blanket and listen to his mother’s stories and singing. One day he should probably get her one of those ‘World’s Greatest Aunt’ mugs – people sold those, right?

He nodded to her as he passed.

Nico stubbornly leaned against Hades’ throne again and relished in the sensation of cold stone against his body. He could feel the campers’ eyes were fixed on him. He glanced over to them and caught Chiron’s gaze. He couldn’t tell what the centaur was thinking. Was it sympathy? If it was anything close to pity, Nico didn’t particularly want it.

The minor gods, as usual, were not in attendance at the solstice. Nico’s half-siblings were exempt from this particular annual torture and he tried not to feel too bitterly envious. For most demigods, it was probably an honour to stand at their godly parent’s right hand during official meetings of the Olympian Council. Nico might feel the same way if the entire thing weren’t so godsdamned boring.

He tried to pay attention to the solstice meeting, he truly did. But Hades rarely spoke up and Nico was never called upon. The affairs of the Olympians rarely, if ever, affected any real change in the Underworld and Hades’ influence on the rest of the gods’ affairs was unwelcome at best. They held their tongues, though Nico was certain that every minute detail was being filed away in his father’s mind for future schemes.

Hades worked in the shadows of Olympian politics. While the others blustered and displayed their diving power in great shows of rage, Hades played his cards close to his chest, quietly acquired leverage and bided his time for the most opportune moments to strike. Despite the gold cuffs that still encircled Nico’s wrists, Hades’ perceived influence over him was his ace.

Near the end of the meeting, Nico was still leaning against his father’s throne, arms folded over his chest. At that moment he was entertaining himself by trying to match the demigods from Camp Half-Blood to their godly parent just by looking at them.

Annabeth and Luke he knew of course. Behind Luke were a few kids who shared his impish features that must be more of Hermes’ brood. There was one hulking shape of a girl that must belong to either Ares or Hephaestus, no question. A girl even Nico could identify as drop-dead gorgeous who was a daughter of Aphrodite if he’d ever seen one. Then a gaggle of blond children who could be either Athena’s or Apollo. It was a matter of pride for Apollo, passing on his golden looks to his offspring, and Athena, brunette herself, definitely had a type despite the asexual nature of her reproduction. The others were more difficult to identify. They all wore the same orange camp T-shirts under their various unzipped hoodies and parkas and most were in jeans. _There’s the mighty army of Olympus,_ Nico snorted to himself, _a handful of kids._

He had been no older than the majority of that group when he first arrived at Camp Half-Blood himself, of course, but that did not change the absurdity of it. In the mortal world, when the general life expectancy had extended, so had childhood. Mortal soldiers were at least eighteen in the vast majority of the modern world. Demigods had not kept up with the times in either respect.

How many more people would he outlive?

His mother, his grandparents, James and Linda, Philip, Mary and Peter, Stephen, Gary, Thalia, Pietro… He could list the names until he was blue in the face but it wouldn’t change anything. The ones he had lost would still be dead, despite his powers they would be forever out of reach, and he would not prevent the deaths of anyone else – young or old.

Death itself was a sacred, natural, even beautiful period of transition. It was vital to the natural cycle of the universe. There was nothing Nico would do to change that. He had seen all four Harry Potter movies with his half-brother Plutus and would not be crafting a Lord Voldemort persona of his own chasing an escape from death. But neither would he lose anyone else. He can’t grieve for someone he never became attached to.

His immortal life would last forever. Trapped in the same cycle of death by combat followed by rebirth as any so-called mythic creature. His soul returned and his body healed no matter how severe the damage. Thankfully, he had yet to experience that particular process himself.

Across the throne room, Apollo caught Nico’s eye. The god had earbuds in his ears attached to a little white iPod. He winked at Nico and then rolled his eyes in Zeus’ direction. Zeus and Poseidon were in a heated debate regarding the comparative devastation of air disasters versus sea disasters. Privately, Nico thought it was a discussion that did not require the presence of the entire Olympian council plus himself and Hades. Apparently, he and Apollo were not the only ones.

Athena cleared her throat pointedly.

“Lord Zeus,” she said, “Lord Poseidon. Perhaps the need for this gathering has expired. Shall we adjourn?”

A few of the other gods were taking no pains to hide their own boredom either. Hermes was reading a newspaper. Dionysus had grown what looked like an entire basket woven from grapevines in his lap.

“Yes,” said Zeus, eyeing his inattentive children with distaste, “quite right, Athena.” He slammed the tip of his master bolt against the ground with finality. “This meeting is adjourned.”

He and Zeus vacated their thrones and exited, their hands gesturing wildly as their argument evidently continued. Several of the other gods made their exit immediately as well. Others gathered in pairs or small groups around the room – presumably discussing the events of the night’s meeting.

Hades rose from his throne and turned to Nico. He stretched subtly and Nico wondered about the nature of godly lactic acid and if their joints got sore. Hades’ usual thrones were made of solid obsidian or fused human bones. Neither of which looked particularly comfortable. Maybe there was Olympian-grade Tylenol for that kind of problem.

“I expect you will be joining the rest of the family for dinner,” Hades said to Nico. It wasn’t a question.

Nico shrugged. “I have to give the campers a tour, remember? Persephone won’t want to postpone just for me.”

“In the _andron_ then, afterwards.”

The _andron_ was a traditionally all-male space, separate from its feminine counterpart the _gynaeceum_. At one point in the mortal world, it would have been used for entertaining guests while the women were sequestered away in their own private part of the house.

In Hades’ palace, there was no such separation. Persephone helped herself to every part of Hades’ kingdom she wished to – not that Nico blamed her. If he were in her position, he couldn’t imagine allowing himself to be exiled from part of his own house especially considering just how badly Hades had wanted her there. Following Persephone’s lead, Macaria and Melinoe invited themselves to the andron as well and so it had become more of a family living room than a men-only entertaining space. They typically retired there after a rare family gathering.

“You’re awfully cuddly today,” Nico noted, narrowing his eyes. “What’s going on?”

Hades sighed in a put upon sort of way. “It is not I,” he said. “It is Macaria and Plutus. They _miss_ you,” he sounded quite incredulous, “and requested–” _demanded_ , Nico finished in his head, “–that I ensure your presence tonight.”

“Heartwarming,” said Nico. “I’ll try.”

“I hope you are not making excuses, young man.”

Nico turned and there was Demeter. She wore a golden dress that seemed to shimmer like a field of wheat swaying in the wind.

“Lady Demeter,” Nico greeted with a bow.

He was never sure what to expect from Demeter. Sometimes she wanted to dote on him, sometimes she ignored him outright, and sometimes she made no secret that she resented his living embodiment of her son in law’s infidelity.

Hades closed his eyes briefly as though he could wish her away.

“You are too thin as it is. I will not hear of you missing a family meal. The harvest is good and done, now is the time to gather together.”

“Uh,” said Nico, “right. Yeah.”

Hades snapped his fingers and, behind him, the obsidian throne disappears into thin air.

“This evening,” he said, giving Nico a pointed look. “Do not dawdle.”

Nico bent his head in acknowledgment and when he looked up Hades and Demeter were both gone.

By that time, the campers from Camp Half-Blood had spread themselves out. Chiron had stationed himself by the door and appeared engrossed in whatever Annabeth Chase had to say as she pointed at various architectural details of the room. Several of the others were flitting about the hall admiring the thrones and daring each other to touch them.

Nico was about to call for the campers to meet him in the open door when thunder shook the building.

“HALT!”

The enormous doors slammed shut in front of Nico. His cuffs tingled, sending a sensation of pins and needles down his hands. He was familiar with what that meant: shadow travel would not be an option any time soon.

Zeus and Poseidon had returned. The air was heavy with the scent of ozone. Divine energy crackled all around them.

A delicate golden chain shimmered into existence between Nico’s cuffs, binding his wrists together. He tried to pull his wrists apart. The chain was so thin it should have snapped under the pressure but it held fast.

Zeus raised his hand and then pulled it back to himself as though he were pulling on a rope or the handle of a drawer. As he did so, Nico lurched toward him, yanked forward by his cuffs. The expression on Zeus’ face was one of complete and utter fury.

“You,” Zeus growled, “are not going _anywhere_ , son of Hades”. His voice rumbled through Nico’s entire body like a clap of thunder.


	2. The Lightning Thief Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating increased to Teen for language.
> 
> I'm going to be honest, I hate this chapter. Hopefully you guys like it more than I do.

Nico knew he was not the bravest demigod to ever walk the earth, but he had hoped that he was at least brave enough to not go running to his daddy as soon as trouble came knocking. That did not stop his mind from instinctively jumping to his father when Zeus’ electric blue gaze was pinned on him. If Hades were here, at least _someone_ would be watching his back.

“Get the demigods out!” Zeus barked.

The kids, who until that point had been frozen in place, scrambled toward the exit. Annabeth held the door open as Chiron ushered all the campers through the door, sending Annabeth and Luke out last, and let the door shut behind them.

Only a handful of gods remained: Zeus, Poseidon, Hestia, Dionysus, Artemis, and Ares. They watched as Nico was dragged to the foot of Zeus’ throne and yanked down to his knees.

He glared up at Zeus. His knees were going to be seriously bruised. “I’m guessing that there is a reason for this, Lord Zeus.”

“Do not feign ignorance, boy,” Zeus spat. “I know what you have done.”

“Sir, I really have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Nico hissed as his cuffs burned white-hot.

Zeus’ eyes crackled with electricity. “My Master Bolt,” he growled. “It is missing.”

Nico’s stomach did several somersaults. The thought did not entirely compute. How could the Master Bolt be missing? It was _The Master_ Bolt. The most powerful weapon in Zeus’ arsenal, maintaining order throughout the entire cosmos. He didn’t know of anyone who would––who _could––_ challenge Zeus in such a way. The bolt couldn’t be sold or traded, but was there was someone powerful enough with enough supporters who could wield it to stage a coup? He wasn’t certain.

“…And you think I took it?” Nico hedged. “I didn’t. Why would I do that?”

“Do not lie to me!”

The cuffs burned again. The skin of his wrists actually sizzled, as if he had put his palm on a hot grill.

Nico grunted, fighting back a shout of pain. “I'm not lying! I didn't take anything!”

“Stop this, brother.” Hestia stood from her hearth, leaving her poker to smoulder in the flames. “I cannot abide this.”

“I would warn you, Hestia, that you are no longer on this council!”

Nico shook. Zeus was a damn tyrant. Pronouncing himself to be both judge and jury and refusing to hear one word of dissent. Plus his wrists _really_ fucking hurt.

“Enough, brother.” Poseidon’s face was hard and stern. “You are enjoying this for the sake of your own cruelty.”

“Do not tempt me, Poseidon! If it was not Hades’ brat it is clear to all who else would have a vested interest in stealing from me.”

“Your paranoia goes too far!”

The air between the two gods crackled with energy. The entire palace shook. Was Nico about to witness another one.

“Nico,” said Hestia, “let us end this now. Will you swear your innocence on the River Styx?”

“Yes,” said Nico. “Yes, I swear on the river Styx that I didn’t take the lightning bolt.”

“Are you set satisfied?” Hestia demanded.

Zeus grunted, and his murderous expression did not waver. “Begone, boy. You have heard enough.”

Nico disagreed. He hadn’t heard enough at all. Despite the pain in his arms and hands, he wanted to see what was going to happen.

But a chiding voice in the back of his mind pointed him in the direction of self-preservation. Live and with another day. Chiron would find another damn tour guide.

Nico retreated to the shadow of the nearest throne, head swimming with images of an animal, slinking into darkness to lick its own wounds, and disappeared into the ether.

Nico returned to the Underworld shaken. He had been a target for Zeus’ rage a number of times but never had he faced the brunt of the gods anger largely unprotected. He was lucky that Hestia – she really deserved that new mug – had been there to help diffuse the situation but he doubted she would have gone further if pushed. She was above all a peacekeeper. She did not like to see the other gods lose their tempers as Zeus had nor did she want to see Nico hurt, but he could not expect her to defend him completely.

He could not expect anyone to do that except his father and Hades’ protection was conditional. If Nico had not been shackled as he was, chained to Olympus for the rest of his immortal life, would Zeus have obliterated him there on the spot? He didn’t like to examine that possibility too closely.

He had appeared outside the gates of the palace. It would have been possible to flop down on his own bed, but he had endured far too many lectures from Persephone about shadow travel in the house and was in no mood for another. The skeleton guards standing at attention let him pass with no trouble. They were well used to his comings and goings after so many years.

Inside the palace, there was a strange tension in the air. Hades’ palace was more lively than one might expect. It was usually bustling with activity; pages ferrying messages to and from, Persephone’s handmaidens on errands, and the cleaning servants who tended to make themselves scarce when any of the gods were around paid Nico little attention and were often hurrying about the place.

Now the palace was silent. Guards stood stiffly at attention. There was not a servant nor page in sight. As though they were hiding from something.

Nico headed for the dining room but when he opened the door, it was empty. The table was set with eight places for the usual winter solstice meal but everything was still pristinely untouched. No food had been served at all.  
  
He went to the _andron_ next, hoping for one of his half-siblings to explain what in Hades was going on. Again, nothing. The low couches were empty, their customary low lying tables pushed out of the way.

He was on his way to Persephone’s preferred veranda over the gardens when someone grabbed him by the arm and yanked him into an alcove. Nico’s hand was halfway to his sword before he recognized who had grabbed him. Plutus. White as a sheet and fluttering a few inches off the ground was Nico’s winged half-brother.

“This is bad, Nico. This is really really bad.”

“That you gave me a heart attack?” Nico demanded, wrenching his arm out of Plutus’ grip. “Yeah, it is.”

“You don’t understand. It’s missing.”

Nico’s stomach rolled. “The bolt? How do you know about the bolt already?”

“What? No, I don’t know anything about any bolt. I’m talking about Father’s Helm of Darkness. It’s gone.”

“What do you mean gone? I was just being interrogated about the Master Bolt! They can’t have both disappeared.”

If possible, Plutus’ paled further.

“Come on,” he said.

And just like that Nico was being hauled along the corridor. Plutus lead him up the stairs to a private wing of the palace. Access was exclusive to Hades, Persephone, and their personal attendants. Anyone else was permitted only by invitation which Nico had received only a handful of times. They went straight to Hades’ office. Nico had been in there before but it had been a long time since he had last had reason to enter.

It was a dark room, like most of Hades’ palace. Dominated by an arched window curtained with blood-red drapes, that looked out over the fires of the Fields of Punishment. In front of the window was a large desk with neat piles of paper and a _kantharos_ holding several pens. The fireplace crackled with green flames.

It was more crowded than Nico had ever seen it. Macaria sat on the floor and seemed to be warming herself by the hearth – raising all sorts of questions in Nico’s mind about whether or not gods were affected by the cold. Persephone sat in Hades’ usual chair behind the desk with Zagreus behind her, his hands on the back of the chair protectively. Melinoe sat in one of the two smaller chairs opposite the desk where Nico normally sat if his father summoned him. Hades paced the room.

When Nico and Plutus entered, Hades halted his pacing and turned his gaze directly to Nico. The temperature in the room dropped a good ten degrees.

“Where is my helm, Nico?” Hades’ voice was a low growl, the sound of a giant cat ready to pounce.

Goosebumps rose along Nico’s arms, the hair stood up on the back of his neck. He had done it this time, finally pushed his father to the brink. There was no way to get around it, no way to escape what was coming. It was all happening too damn fast. He had had no time to digest either of the disappearances, let alone prepare some sort of answer or plan for his father.

Nico took a deep breath. “I don’t know.”

“You. Don’t. Know.” Hades breathed.

Nico winced and resisted the urge to shadow travel halfway across the globe. “It must have been stolen.”

“And the thief?”

“I don’t know that either. I didn’t see anything.”

Hades seethed. “I trust you, my son, to guard my most powerful weapon. And you return to me with nothing but excuses!”

Nico thought ‘guard’ was a strong word. Hades’ guarded his own damn helmet, Nico was just there for the pleasure of his company.

“I–” he tried to say.

“Silence!” Hades roared. “Not another word!”

“I'll find him,” Nico promised. “I swear. I'll go and-“

“No!” Hades bellowed. “You will do nothing! You have done enough. Count yourself as lucky that I chose not to divulge your failure on Olympus itself.”

“Maybe you just misplaced it,” Macaria suggested.

Plutus nodded. “Yeah did you check under your throne?”

“I did not misplace it!” Hades roared. “It was stolen.”

“Father, I will hunt down this thief,” Zagreus declared.

“You will do no such thing! None of you will lift a finger. I want none of your involvement. If the other gods realize that it is missing they will think I am weak. They will take this opportunity to strike against me!”

“Wait!” Plutus cut in. “Father, you must listen to what Nico has to say.”

Hades’ dark gaze swivelled back around to Nico. “Well, boy?” he demanded.

Plutus gave Nico a nod of encouragement, and Nico tried to steel himself. “It’s about Master Bolt,” he said. “It’s gone missing too.”

Hades paused. “Is that so?”

Nico nodded.

“Well,” said Zagreus, “we can as good as convict the culprit then.”

“Thievery is not my brother’s usual method of operating,” Hades mused.

“I'm going to talk to Bianca,” said Nico.

“Nico,” Hades warned, “not a word.”

“I know,” said Nico, just barely resisting an eye roll that would probably get him smote. “but if Zeus–”

“Names!” Zagreus barked.

“The _skyfather_ then,” Nico really did roll his eyes at that. “If the skyfather has sent anyone looking for the Master Bolt it will be the Hunters. I want to hear what she knows.”

“Very well.” Hades expression did not match his words. “We will wait for the thief to make their intentions known, to make their demands. If _anyone_ breathes a word of this outside of this room…” he let the threat hang in the air.

They all knew what it meant. Hades would let loose all the fury of the Underworld upon anyone who broke his confidence.


	3. The Lightning Thief Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Canon-era has entered the chat

May 2004

Despite Hades’ orders for him to leave bad enough alone, Nico could not bear to sit on his hands any longer. The atmosphere in the Underworld was even more bleak than usual. Everyone was on edge – even Plutus who was ordinarily infuriatingly cheerful.  
  
He couldn’t handle it any longer. He simply couldn’t.

Nico had never much fancied himself a detective, but he had watched enough procedurals to have a general idea of how to go about it.

The Master Bolt had last been seen on Olympus when Zeus adjourned the meeting. Then it had been left on his throne while he left to speak with Poseidon.

Hades’ Helm of Darkness had a similar story. Nico had seen it with his own two eyes when he arrived in the throne room. It had been resting on the arm of his father’s throne. No one could have taken it while Hades himself guarded it, but perhaps while his back was turned…

So whoever had been in the throne room immediately after the meeting was a suspect.

Nico knew he hadn’t done it, so he crossed himself off his mental list. Zeus would not have done it himself, and Hades insisted that he had nothing to do with the bolt’s disappearance.

He crossed Hades off the list too but left Poseidon’s name at the top of the list.

Zeus, in his typical fashion, had immediately accused his brothers who both categorically denied any involvement. Nico was inclined to believe his father but he didn’t know what to make of Poseidon. His uncle was as unreadable as the ocean on a clear day, he could not tell what lay beneath the calm surface.

That left any of the remaining Olympians, including those who had left quickly after the meeting. He could not discount their swift departure in case the thief had been making a quick getaway.

It also left any of the campers from Camp Half-Blood who had been on the field trip.

His first stop during his investigation was Camp Half-Blood itself. He had wanted a list of names for every camper in attendance on the trip but Chiron was not at the camp and Dionysus either didn’t know or didn’t care or possibly neither knew nor cared.

Dionysus had told him that Chiron was away at some boarding school observing a potentially strong demigod. After much pestering, an irritated Annabeth had revealed that Grover had told her he and Chiron would be taking said potential strong demigod on a field trip to the city.

Which brought Nico to the intersection of 5th Avenue and East 82nd Street, looking up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Nico had not spent much time in New York City since the 40s and if he had it his way, the first stop upon his return to the city would have been almost anywhere other than a tourist trap like the one in front of him. The front steps were crowded with school tour groups, families with crying children, and people having picnic lunches. None of the mortals seemed to notice that overhead, a huge storm was brewing. Zeus’ temper had stirred the weather all across New York state ever since the winter solstice; massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes.

Nico unzipped his aviator jacket as he entered the building. It felt slightly less crowded inside the museum away from the noise of traffic and the flow of pedestrians along 5th Avenue.

He didn’t know exactly where he would find Chiron or what the centaur would be doing at a museum so he wandered the halls aimlessly. In one of the echoey galleries full of marble statues and glass cases of black and orange pottery, Nico lingered near a group of preteens in white dress shirts and grey sweater vests. They were gathered around a child’s stele: a thirteen-foot-tall stone column topped with a sphinx.

Nico couldn’t see where the group’s teacher was, but he could hear them explaining the carvings on the side of the stele. Most of the kids were talking amongst themselves instead of paying attention to the lesson. If he and his friends had ignored one of their teachers at St Dismas’ it would never have been tolerated.

“Will you shut up?”

One kid’s voice rose above the others’ snickering. The whole group laughed and their teacher stopped his lecture.

"Mr. Jackson," said the teacher, "did you have a comment?”

"No, sir."

Nico took a few steps past the group of school kids, scanning the hall for a familiar face. There were a few families with little kids milling around looking at the statues but no one who appeared to be a satyr or centaur in disguise.

The teacher behind him continued his lesson. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?”

At the end of the hall, Nico turned back around. _Maybe I should try one of the other halls…_ He stopped in his tracks. The teacher was immediately recognizable. A middle-aged man in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket. Chiron, in his human disguise. He hadn’t seen Chiron in a long time, but he still looked the same way he had when Nico first arrived at Camp Half-Blood. If Chiron was teaching, Grover and the unclaimed demigod must not be far away.

Chiron pointed to one of the pictures on the stele, his gaze still directed at one of the students. ”Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"

"That's Kronos eating his kids, right?”

Nico raised his eyebrows and stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. The titanomachy, an oldie but a goodie.

"Yes," said Chiron, obviously not satisfied, ”and he did this because…”

“Well… Kronos was the king god, and–”

"God?" Chiron asked.

"Titan," the kid corrected himself, "and ... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters–”

"Eeew!" said one of the girls in the group.

“–and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans and the gods won.”

Some snickers from the group. It was a brief summary, but Nico thought it was accurate enough.

"And why, Mr. Jackson," Chiron continued, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?”

"I don't know, sir."

"I see." Chiron looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?”

A woman emerged from behind one of the marble statues. She was a small, wrinkle-faced woman in a leather jacket. There was something familiar about her that Nico just couldn’t shake. He made a mental note to circle back to her before he left the museum.

The class drifted off after her. Some of the girls held their stomachs as they went and most of the boys shoved each other around.

Nico edged forward to intercept Chiron before he could follow the class out when the centaur said, ”Mr. Jackson."

One of the boys stopped and turned back around. “Sir?”

"You must learn the answer to my question," Chiron told him.

"About the Titans?”

"About real life. And how your studies apply to it.”

“Oh."

"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.”

The kid mumbled something about trying harder.

Chiron sighed and took one long sad look at the stele. “Go outside and eat your lunch.”

The kid left.

Nico stepped into Chiron’s path before he could follow the student.

“Hello, Chiron.”

Chiron’s face barely registered surprise before it was replace by an expression of neutrality. “Nico. What an unexpected pleasure.”

“Is it?”

“Always the cynic. You used to be such a sweet boy.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Here we go. Chiron, spare me the lecture. Maybe you should stop bemoaning how ‘good’ I used to be and think about why you and the rest of the godsdamned world couldn’t let me stay that way.”

“I had no part in–”

“I really don’t want to hear it.” He jerked his chin in the direction Chiron’s class had gone. “Was that the new ‘strong demigod’ Mr D told me about?”

Chiron eyed him. “I believe so, but I imagine that is not why you are here.”

“No, I’m here because of what happened on the winter solstice.”

“Ah. The missing bolt. Lord Zeus has tasked you with the investigation?”

“I need to find out exactly what happened that night.”

“I’m afraid that I don’t have the answers–“

“You’ve been giving us problems honey.”

Chiron froze. He edged his wheelchair closer to the entrance of the hall. Nico followed. The old lady – Mrs Dodds? – from the school group stood with her arms crossed glaring at a marble frieze of the Olympians. Next to her was the same skinny black kid that had been held back after the lecture – something Jackson. Apart from the four of them, the Greek and Roman gallery was completely empty.

Nico met eyes with Chiron who put a finger to his lips. Nico frowned and slipped behind a column.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Mrs Dodds tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. “Did you really think you would get away with it?”

“I’ll– I'll try harder, ma'am."

Thunder shook the building. Mrs Dodds was actually _growling_ at the kid.

Chiron gave Nico a warning look and he silently drew his sword.

"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain.”

There was a pause.

"Well?" she demanded when the kid failed to answer.

"Ma'am, I don’t…”

"Your time is up," she hissed.

Mrs Dodd’s eyes glowed like two huge embers. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings.She was a shrivelled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons. She wasn’t a mortal teacher at all, it was Alecto.

Nico leapt forward and shoved Percy away, sending him crashing sideways against a wall.

Chiron wheeled his chair forward. "What ho, Percy!" he shouted and tossed something through the air.

Percy grabbed whatever it was out of the air. As soon as it hit Percy’s hand, it elongated into a bronze sword.

Alecto lunged at Percy. He yelped and dodged, her talons barely missing the side of his face. She spun towards him with a murderous look in her eyes.

Nico could see the sword shaking in Percy’s hands. The kid looked like he was about to pass out.

Alecto snarled, "Die, honey!” Then she whipped her leathery wings and flew straight at Percy.

“Hey!” yelled Nico. Alecto spread her wings to halt herself in midair and hissed at him. “Am I invisible or something? What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

She hissed at him. “This boy must be punished for his crime.”

“Since when have judge and jury been added to your job description? This is not your call. Don’t make me put you down, Alecto.”

“Lord Hades–”

“Can deal with me directly if he has a problem. Now get out of here.”

For a moment, Nico thought he had convinced her. Then she swung back around and flew at Percy.

Nico ran after her but it was too late, he would be too slow.

Percy’s face was pale. His arms shook but he swung the sword. The blade hit Alecto’s shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. She exploded into yellow powder leaving nothing but the smell of sulphur and a dying screech in the air.

“What,” Percy panted, “the hell was that?”

Nico shod his sword back into its sheath. “That was my dad’s personal assistant.”

“Nico,” Chiron warned, “enough. He cannot know yet. His scent will be too strong.”

Nico stared at him. He could not be serious. “You want to leave him completely that unprotected? Take him to Camp right now!”

“The boy has a mortal mother.”

Nico opened his mouth to yell and closed it again. He looked around the hall as if one of the statues would come to his aid and plead his case. “Do I look like I care, Chiron? He’s going to get eaten!”

“It is too soon. I do not know what you and your father have planned but–”

“Um, guys?”

As one, Nico and Chiron looked at Percy.

“Are either of you going to tell me what just happened? What the hell was that thing?”

Chiron seized Nico’s wrist. “Nico di Angelo,” he hissed, “if you do what I think you–”

Nico shook off his hand. In one fluid motion, he darted forward, seized Percy’s left bicep, and tugged him into the shadow of a statue of Aphrodite.

They reappeared in an alley behind the museum. It was cramped with dumpsters, litter, and squashed cardboard boxes. It stank like old garbage.

Percy doubled over, hands on his knees, gasping.

“This is insane,” he said to no one in particular. “I am actually going insane.”

Nico folded his arms. It would probably take quite a bit of explaining to get the kid onside. “I promise this is all going to make sense. It’s just… it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

“Who are you?”

“My name’s Nico. I used to be one of Chiron’s– Mr Brunner’s students.”

“What was that… that thing in there?”

“I told you, my dad’s personal assistant.”

“It had wings and claws.”

“So no one gets a meeting with him without her say so. Percy, I know you have a million questions but right now I think we should get you somewhere safe. Do you have somewhere to go?”

Percy bit his lip. He appeared to be thinking hard.

“Grand central. My mom works there.”

“Okay,” said Nico. He grabbed Percy’s arm again. “Don’t throw up on me."

They found Percy’s mother in one of the smaller halls off the main concourse of Grand Central Station. Both sides of the hall were lined with shops selling overpriced snacks, luggage, magazines, and made-to-order coffees. A garish red, white, and blue kiosk in the middle loudly proclaimed: SWEET ON AMERICA. As they got closer, Nico could smell chocolate, licorice, and all sorts of other snacks that would make Plutus’ day.

A woman with brown hair, streaked with grey was working the cash register at the kiosk and serving paper cups full of pick and mix candy to commuters. Her face lit up when she noticed them.

“Percy?”

Percy immediately sagged in relief and broke into a run. The woman caught Percy in a bear hug as he threw himself into her arms.

“Oh, Percy. I can't believe it!” Percy wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed as tightly as his twelve-year-old muscles could. His mom frowned, but squeezed him back. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you at school?”

“Mom…” He sounded choked up. “There was this… _thing_ at the museum. I thought she was a teacher but she was a giant bat!”

Mrs Jackson seemed to notice Nico for the first time. She pushed Percy behind her, placing herself firmly between her son and Nico.

“Who are you?”

Nico held up his hands in a placating gesture. “My name’s Nico di Angelo. I was at the museum with Percy.”

“Mom, it’s okay. He helped me.”

“Mrs Jackson, I have to ask, what do you know about Percy’s father?”

Mrs Jackson looked Nico up and down warily. “I know who he really is. You’re from the camp?”

“I work for Olympus. I can help. Percy needs to go somewhere safe and I can take him there. You need to trust me.”

“I’ll go with you too,” said Sally.

Nico shook his head. “It will be faster if I take him alone. Regular mortals can’t cross the boundaries.”

“I am not sending my son away with a stranger.”

“Mom, what is going on?”

Mrs Jackson held Percy’s shoulders gently. She tucked a lock of his hair behind his ear. “Percy, I’ve tried to keep you as close to me as I could. They told me that was a mistake but there's only one other option; the place your father wanted to send you. I just… I just couldn’t stand to do it.”

"My father wanted me to go to a special school?”

"Not a school," said Nico, ”it’s more like a summer camp.”

"I'm sorry, Percy," said Mrs Jackson. “I– I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."

"For good? But if it's only a summer camp…"

"Percy," she said, ”there's too much to explain and not enough time. I’m choosing to believe Nico. We have to get you to safety."

“Safety from what? Who's after me? Where are we going?”

“The summer camp.” Mrs Jackson’s voice was tight; she was trying for her son’s sake to not be scared. “The place your father wanted to send you.”

“The place you didn't want me to go.”

“Please, dear,” she begged. “This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger.”

CRASH!

Screams erupted from the main concourse.

Nico cursed. “We’re out of time. Mrs Jackson, I’m really sorry about this but we have to go. Now.”

Before any of them could move, the hair rose on the back of Nico’s neck. There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling BOOM, and the ceiling exploded.

Nico was thrown forward. He was weightless. He felt like he was being crushed, burned alive, and sprayed with a fire hose all at the same time. He heard Mrs Jackson scream, “Percy!”

There was a groan from somewhere off to Nico’s right. “…I’m okay…”

Nico tried to shake off his daze. All limbs intact, senses still working. The ceiling had caved in around them. They were cut off from the mortals. Dust and smoke filled the air. The emergency sprinklers had come on spraying water everywhere.

Percy was curled into a fetal position on the floor. Blood trickled from the side of his mouth. But he was awake and he had responded to his own name. Those were good signs.

“Percy,” said Mrs Jackson’s voice, “we have to..." Her voice faltered.

Nico followed her line of sight. A figure lumbered towards them through the debris. It was enormous, humanoid, and coming straight toward them.

Percy coughed. “Who is–”

“Percy,” said Nico, fighting to keep his voice calm, “we have to go.”

“Not without mom.”

“We–”

“Mom! Mom!”

“I’m here, sweetheart.” Mrs Jackson’s voice sounded weak.

Percy scrambled to his feet and half ran, half tripped in the direction of his mother’s voice. Nico followed, sword at the ready, hoping against hope that the smell of smoke and ozone would mask their scents.

Mrs Jackson was half-buried in the rubble, one leg pinned to the ground by a chunk of concrete.

“Percy,” she was saying, her lips grey with dust, “you have to run. I’ll be fine. Go with Nico.”

“Mom, I’m not leaving you!”

The storm outside still raged, pouring into the station trough the gaping hole in the roof.

“You have to go!”

The figure had changed course and was starting to come closer. It was grunting and snorting. The closer it got, the greater the dread pooling in Nico’s stomach. The minotaur.

“Percy, listen,” Mrs Jackson insisted. “His sight and hearing are terrible. He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where you are soon enough. I can’t go where you need to go, anyway. You have to leave me here. I will be fine. First responders will be here soon. You have to go.”

“But…”

“For me, Percy. Please.”

Mrs Jackson’s face was pale and pinched from pain but she was clearly trying to hold it together for her son.

“We don’t have time for this.”

The monster was easily seven feet tall. The body of an enormous man topped with the head of a bull. Its arms and legs were thick as tree trunks and bulging with muscles. It was naked apart from dirty briefs that had probably been white at some point in time. Thick brown hair began at its belly button and got even denser as it crept up to its shoulders. The bull’s head had a huge snout, slobbering mouth, grass septum ring, black eyes, and huge black-and-white horns.

The minotaur bellowed in rage. He picked up a chunk of concrete, raised the debris over his head, and threw it across the hall. It crashed through a lamppost, set off a shower of sparks, before crashing into the glass storefront of a donut shop. Glass sprayed everywhere.

"Percy," said Nico, “get away from your mom. We have to split up. When he sees one of us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way- directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?”

Percy sat back on his heels. "How do you know all this?”

“Just do it!”

Percy scrambled to his feet sprinted away from his mom. Another bellow of rage, and Nico knew for certain that it had seen them. The minotaur charged at Percy.

Percy sprinted to his left and turned, the creature bearing down on him. The dust cloying the air swirled away from the monster’s snorting nostrils. The minotaur lowered his head, horns aimed at Percy’s chest, and charged. Percy would never be able to outrun him. Nico could see the kid fighting his own instinct to turn and run, but he held his ground. At the very last moment, he jumped to the side.

The minotaur grunted, pawing the ground. It eyed Mrs Jackson whose leg was still pinned to the ground. Nico’s heart thudded in his chest.

“Hey, ugly!”

The monster couldn’t hear him. Nico jumped up and down, running in ridiculous zigzags and circles, trying to get the monster’s attention. It couldn’t hear him, it didn’t care to see him, and it had already zeroed in on easier prey.

The minotaur charged. Nico ran after it, praying to every god he could think of for some burst of speed to aid him.

“Mom!”

Mrs Jackson met her son’s eyes. She knew it was impossible. None of them were strong enough to unpin her and Nico would never reach the minotaur in time to slay it.

“Percy, go!”

The minotaur hunched over Mrs Jackson’s trapped form and closed his meaty fists around her neck. She yanked at his enormous hairy arms, kicked her free leg at the air, but it was futile. There was a flash of golden light, and she dissolved, melting into nothingness. Gone without a trace.

Nico stuttered to a halt. _What in Hades?_

“No!”

Scrawny, unarmed Percy Jackson sprinted past Nico.

The minotaur turned toward him and bellowed. It charged, arms out to grab Percy whichever way he tried to dodge. Nico darted forward to shove him down under the monster’s reach but Percy wasn’t where Nico expected him to be. The kid didn’t jump sideways. He leaped straight up, kicking off the monster’s lowered head like a gymnast. He twisted in midair and landed on the monster’s neck. The minotaur threw itself backwards into the brick wall, slamming Percy’s body against the stone.

Nico ran forward and slashed at the monster’s legs. It roared and bucked harder, slamming Percy into the wall once, twice, three more times.

The monster fell to its knees. Before Nico could strike again, Percy seized one of the horns and hauled backwards.

SNAP.

The minotaur screamed and flung Percy away. He landed flat on his back on the cracked floor tiles.

Nico took the opening. He leaped at the monster, sword raised, and sliced straight through its fat neck. The body crumpled at Nico’s feet, disintegrating into dust.

The rain had stopped but the storm still rumbled in the distance.

Percy lay in the wreckage. He was pale, filthy, and smelled like livestock.

“Percy?”

He groaned.

Nico winced and held up a hand with three fingers up. “Percy, how many fingers am I holding up?”

“Too many.”

“Alright, we’re getting out of here.”

Nico got one arm around Percy’s back and another under his legs. He lifted the kid with a grunt. He was heavier than he looked. Percy protested weakly, asking for his mom. Nico closed his eyes against the pang in his chest. _Poor kid doesn’t know what he’s just gotten into._ Then he slipped into the shadows.

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, I make no promises of regular uploads. I just ply my simple craft to you consumers in the hopes of that sweet hit of dopamine when you leave a comment.


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